By good fortune there chances to be a medical man among the passengers; who, after administering restoratives, pronounces her out of danger.
The announcement causes universal joy on board the boat—crew and passengers alike sharing it.
With one alone remains a thought to sadden. It is Jessie: her heart is sore with the suspicion, that her sister has attempted suicide!
Chapter Twenty Three.
The sleep of the assassin.
On the night after killing Clancy, Richard Darke does not sleep soundly—indeed scarce at all.
His wakefulness is not due to remorse; there is no such sentiment in his soul. It comes from two other causes, in themselves totally, diametrically distinct; for the one is fear, the other love.
While dwelling on the crime he has committed, he only dreads its consequences to himself; but, reflecting on what led him to commit it, his dread gives place to dire jealousy; and, instead of repentance, spite holds possession of his heart. Not the less bitter, that the man and woman who made him jealous can never meet more. For, at that hour, he knows Charles Clancy to be lying dead in the dank swamp; while, ere dawn of the following day, Helen Armstrong will be starting upon a journey which must take her away from the place, far, and for ever.